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Letter: Support organizations trying to improve lives

It is said that the children are our future. Given the proper nourishment and support, the children of Buffalo have the potential to strive, and even thrive. Buffalo too often fails to provide the resources needed to promote healthy births and upbringings. Just last year, Buffalo was ranked the third poorest city in the United States, with a poverty rate of 30.1 percent. The city’s high school graduation rate, as of 2014, was an unconscionable 52.8 percent. A lack of education and finances, as well as other barriers, are difficult hurdles that the city’s children and their parents are forced to overcome. Many do not.

These staggering statistics are potholes in our society and system that are left to be filled by organizations such as Buffalo Prenatal-Perinatal Network. It has programs that reduce low birth weight, improve child development and provide parenting support and education. This local not-for-profit is a springboard for success; it strengthens families and creates autonomy, and I knew nothing of the organization until recently. My friends, family and many colleagues were also unaware. Our community rallies around festivals that boast music, art and food, but organizations like Buffalo Prenatal-Perinatal are in the backdrop.

Poor children living at risk are not “fun” and attractive; this leaves the organization overlooked by our community, when it, and other like it should be celebrated. The City of Buffalo is experiencing a rebirth and the children born today are vital to how our city will look tomorrow.